This is another way of putting the old idea of, “Do you see the glass as half full or half empty?” Studies have shown that the way you approach life, with optimism or pessimism, can predict how successful you’ll be. When you see opportunity in every situation, whether it appears to be beneficial or detrimental, then you’ll likely reap the reality of your attitude.

Some people feel that they’re lying when they’re affirming something that isn’t actually in their life. When you’re affirming something new to come into your life, you’re giving the subconscious the direction of where you want it to go. Just as you wouldn’t feel you were lying if you said, “I’m going on vacation,” before you made plans for it, you’re not lying when you choose a new course for your life. You may not know how to get there, but your subconscious does. Affirm your direction and follow any leads that come to you.

I’m sure you’ve heard the computer adage, “Garbage in, garbage out.” This means that the machine will operate on whatever data you program into it, whether it’s good or bad, correct or incorrect. The computer will use that information and your result will be based on it. If it’s valid and accurate information, you’ll get a correct outcome. However, if you’ve entered bad data, it will give you a flawed product. It all depends on what the operator (you) feeds into the computer.

The same can be said of your mind. Your mind operates on the ideas you load into it, from the past or present. If you are functioning on false information, you’re going to get outcomes you don’t want. Unless your mental programming supports your goals, vision and dreams, you’re going to undermine your success. Because the Law of Attraction acts on that information, drawing to you want you’ve accepted as true.

The good news is that you can change your programming. You’re always reinforcing commands in your mind by the beliefs you’ve accepted, the attitudes you’ve developed and the statements you say to yourself each day. Your subconscious (your mental computer) and the Law of Attraction act on your beliefs and bring them into a reality in your life. But your subconscious and the Law of Attraction must follow what your conscious mind decides. When your conscious mind makes a new choice and follows through on it, your subconscious and the Law of Attraction must comply and attract the equivalent.

Follow these steps to program yourself for success:

1. Change your beliefs. Are you programming yourself for what you want or what you don’t want? If you aren’t getting the results you want, assess what your beliefs about it might be. You can change your beliefs, because they’re only ideas that you’ve focused on so long that they’ve gotten to be habits. And you know you can change a habit, right? What belief do you need to have to get the outcome you want?

2. Use auto-suggestion. Every day, you’re giving yourself suggestions that impress your subconscious mind and the Law of Attraction. It They then seeks out opportunities to make the suggestions true. Once you’ve recognized what belief you need to have, write an auto-suggestion for it, in the second or third person positive. Such as an old favorite, “Every day, in every way, you’re getting better and better.” Or, “Every day, in every way, [your name] is getting better and better.” Repeat your statement out loud for a minimum of 5 minutes every day. Or repeat it to yourself as you’re going to sleep at night. Or both.

3. Use visualization. Many people think that visualization is like seeing something on a movie screen. That’s a fallacy. Imagine what your living room looks like. That’s the way you’ll experience visualization. Imagine your acting on any steps towards your goal or dream. This is like a mental rehearsal and imprints your desires on your subconscious and Law of Attraction. Then imagine that your goal or dream is accomplished and how it makes you feel. You can do this at the same time as you’re using auto-suggestion. It instructs your subconscious mind and Law of Attraction to find ways to fulfill your desires.
4. Focus on your vision. Keep your attention on your intention. When you do, your actions will follow. And this helps you avoid getting distracted. If you do find yourself getting sidetracked, just get refocused and keep moving. Setbacks are normal. Don’t get discouraged. They give you valuable feedback on what you need to do to correct your course and keep moving forward.

Reprogramming your mind takes commitment and persistence. You’re having to change the course of the stream of your thoughts. You’ll have to move rocks (beliefs) and earth (thoughts) to metaphorically create a new channel. But it can be done as long as you’re determined to succeed.
Affirmation:
The Universe completely supports my endeavors, wanting me to have the best. I accept that I deserve the best and have the ability to create it through the power of my Higher Mind. By keeping my mind focused on my dream and desire, I provide the channel through which the Universe sends my good to me.

As a vision strategist, hypnotherapist, and speaker, Linda-Ann Stewart helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel stuck, immobilized and overwhelmed to to get clear, focused and on the fast track to the next level of their business. If you'd like some help to reach your goals, apply for her complimentary "Clarify Your Vision" consultation at http://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/coaching.shtml

God does for you what It can do through you. When a person is stuck or wanting to manifest something, they can sit back and wait for something to happen. But the Universe has to work through you to bring your desire into reality. Your first step is to change the way you think about the situation. If you don’t do that, then God can’t work through your consciousness. Your second step is to take action in the physical world. In this way, you stir up energy to allow the Universe to work through your actions, and attract the actions of others.

Ask, believing that you can receive, in meditation and affirmation for what it is that you want. Then go out into the world, asking for guidance every step of the way. No matter what path you take, if you’re open and seeking, you’ll be directed. And persist, not giving up. This convinces the subconscious, which is the part of you that needs convincing, that you really do want it.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart

“There is no such thing as a lack of faith. We all have plenty of faith, it’s just that we have faith in the wrong things. We have faith in what can’t be done rather than what can be done. We have faith in lack rather than abundance but there is no lack of faith. Faith is a law.” – Eric Butterworth

I’ve heard it said that fear is just faith that things aren’t going to work out. What are you fearful of? That’s where you’re putting your energy, and telling your subconscious mind what you want more of. Faith is simply belief or trust. If you trust that the Universe wants the best for you, and that you can experience it, then you will draw it to you. This isn’t a maybe. It’s the way the Universe works.

People have different definitions of abundance. To one person, it’s about money and prosperity. To another, it’s happiness. For yet another, it consists of health and harmony. Abundance includes all of these things and more. It means having generous amounts of all that you need and want, while allowing you to have peace of mind.

Most people look at abundance from a position of lack. This means that they don’t have what they want. Instead of appreciating the abundance they do have, they’re focusing on the scarcity of what they don’t have. These people have a comfort zone of only a certain amount of abundance. And if Life tries to give them more, they block it by focusing on what they don’t want. When they have this attitude, they’ve built a wall around themselves and are unconsciously holding off more abundance.

Actions follow attention. So when someone’s focus is on what they don’t have, they aren’t taking any action to improve their lot. Instead of being proactive, they simply react to whatever happens in the present. They don’t seek to change or make a better future. Rather than looking at the horizon, where their future is, their vision is focused at their feet, at the here and now. They remain in their comfort zone, and never move towards their dreams.

With a scarcity mentality, they don’t believe there’s much more available to them than what they already have. Even if they were tripping over opportunities, they wouldn’t recognize them. Because they’re so fixated on where they are, instead of where they want to be, they turn them down.

For instance, when a friend wanted to introduce her to a buyer for a boutique, Grace had an opportunity to turn her jewelry making hobby into a business. But Grace didn’t believe her jewelry was good enough or could sell for a price that would support her. So she declined the introduction instead of being open to the possibility. She stayed in her comfort zone, only making jewelry for herself and her friends.

When you expand your vision of abundance, you start to break out of your comfort zone. You start seeing more possibilities and you’re willing to reach for them. When you consider that there is more than enough for you, you become aware of ideas and synchronicities that appear. Here are some tips on how to shift from an attitude of lack to a mindset of abundance.

1. Focus on the abundance you have in your life. Start with the basics. Do you have enough air to breathe? What about food on the table? Friends? What you focus on expands, and you’re able to get a feeling that you have enough in some parts of your life. Once this is done, you can then expand that feeling into other areas of your life.

2. Keep a gratitude journal. Research shows that this exercise can improve your attitude within a few weeks. And when you have a more positive mindset, you become more attractive to others. You will also notice more of the positive things in your life. And the process continues to expand in your life. You also become more attractive to the Law of Attraction, which will then draw more abundance to you.
3. Change your attitude from “can’t” to “maybe.” This alone will open the door to possibilities. Even if you don’t completely embrace the idea of abundance, you’ve broken the lock on your comfort zone. Any belief you have becomes a goal for the subconscious and Law of Attraction. It seeks to fulfill and confirm it for you. So when you begin to change that belief, your subconscious and Law of Attraction will scan the environment to help you achieve your goal.
4. Expand your mental acceptance of more. How much abundance can you be comfortable with? In reality, most people have a set point for the amount they can accept. And your subconscious and Law of Attraction will keep you at that level. To expand it, determine where your current state is. Then stretch it a little bit and imagine how it would feel to be there. This allows your subconscious to catch up and support you in your quest.

When you raise your gaze from what’s at your feet to looking at the horizon, everything within your view is possible for you. Your belief changes from anticipating the worst to expecting that things can improve. As a result, your actions follow your attention and you’re able to fulfill your vision.

Affirmation:
There is more than enough abundance available to me. I am now open to the natural flow of abundance, in the form of health, harmony, joy, prosperity and everything good. All of Life desires this abundance for me. It’s safe for me to expand my acceptance of more abundance into my life. Abundance now flows to and through me, blessing every area of my life.

As a vision strategist, hypnotherapist, and speaker, Linda-Ann Stewart helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel stuck, immobilized and overwhelmed to to get clear, focused and on the fast track to the next level of their business. If you'd like some help to reach your goals, apply for her complimentary "Clarify Your Vision" consultation at http://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/coaching.shtml

I love the prosperity writings of Joseph Murphy and Catherine Ponder. They are loaded with belief changing techniques and affirmations. This book comes to the subject from a slightly different perspective, and it was one that helped me release limited attitudes that I didn’t even know I had.

In the first chapter, the author explains that we are immersed in the substance of prosperity. That we cannot be separated from it, and we already have all the substance right where we are. As the book progresses, Eric Butterworth addresses many of the incorrect ideas that we’ve accepted, including our lack of self-worth. In the chapter on visualization, he describes it as “seeing from a consciousness of ever-present substance” instead of mainly picturing material objects.

Although it’s a book mainly about prosperity, it also is one that raises the reader’s spiritual awareness. Each page is packed with attitude shifting and consciousness expanding ideas and concepts. Anyone who reads this book and practices the concepts will experience an incredibly improved quality of life.

In the New Testament, Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. Some fell on hard ground and were eaten by the birds. Still others fell on rocky soil and sprouted, but didn’t have enough soil or water to grow, and therefore died. Some fell on ground that was choked with weeds, and were able to begin to grow. But the weeds choked the life out of them. However, some fell on rich, deep soil, sprouted, were watered, and grew into plants that produced many more seeds.

These seeds are like your thoughts. Some fall on ground that is too hard to accept anything new and are eaten by those who wish us to fail. Other thoughts begin to sprout, but there’s not enough positive nourishment to allow them to expand. Still more fall into thought patterns that are choked with negativity and old ideas, and the life is choked out of the ideas. But when you’ve prepared your mind, through actions, positive focusing, and affirmations, the seeds that are sown into that ground find welcome. They are able to germinate, sprout and grow, and bring much more good into your life.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart

“God knows my needs before I can express them. My needs are now met by the One Life within me. I open my mind to receive only good.”

You have legitimate needs and the Universe knows what they are. Whether it’s for better health, more harmony, prosperity, or peace of mind, when you begin to realize that they’re acceptable and focus on them being fulfilled, then Infinite good can begin to flow through you. But you have to claim that they’re being addressed. As long as you’re continuing to focus on the lack of something, that’s what you’ll receive.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart